D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10, r. 10-A1618
The North of Massachusetts Avenue (NoMA) and Northwest One Policy Focus Area includes the area roughly bounded by New Jersey Avenue on the west, Massachusetts Avenue on the south, New York Avenue on the north, and 2nd and 3rd Streets NE on the east. This 350-acre area includes the Union Station and New York Avenue Metrorail stations. 1618.1
For much of the past century, NoMA has been an industrial and warehousing area and a "back office" district supplementing Downtown. Its proximity to the CSX railroad and the established concentration of industry along New York Avenue attracted light manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors throughout the mid to late 1900s. During the 1990s, the area was viewed as the city's best prospect for high-technology uses and plans were developed to attract new media and biotech enterprises, as well as "telecom hotels," to the area. 1618.2
NoMA's proximity to the U.S. Capitol has also made it a desirable location for government office space. During the 1980s and 1990s, office development moved steadily northward along North Capitol Street and by 2000 was also moving eastward toward Capitol Hill. This trend accelerated after 2000 with the opening of Metrorail's first "infill" station at New York Avenue, the renovation of a historic printing plant in Eckington as the new headquarters of XM Satellite Radio, the leasing of more than one million square feet at Station Place (1st and F Streets NE) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the development of a new headquarters facility for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms at 1st Street NE and New York Avenue. 1618.3
Large areas of NoMA remain vacant or underutilized today-although that is rapidly changing. The strong demand for Downtown housing has shifted the vision for NoMA's future, and it is now regarded as an exceptional site for future mixed use development, rather than just technology and back office uses. While the area is far from a blank canvass, its parking lots, open storage yards, and vacant sites present the opportunity for thousands of new homes, millions of square feet of office space, and great new parks and public buildings. Much of the land in NoMA has been acquired by investors during the last ten years, and concept plans are pending on many of its 50 or so blocks. 1618.4
Given the extraordinary level of development interest, it is important that measures be taken to coordinate development and address the need for infrastructure, street improvements, landscaping, parks, and other public necessities in the area. There is also an urgent need for design guidelines and standards to ensure that the area develops in an attractive and cohesive manner, create a pedestrian-friendly and vibrant street environment, and provide appropriate transitions to less dense development areas nearby. 1618.5
Planning for NoMA must also accommodate established uses. The area includes important historic buildings like the Government Printing Office and the U-Line Arena. It also includes active light manufacturing and wholesale uses north of Florida Avenue and east of the CSX tracks. These uses should not be driven out by rising land values and speculation, but should be retained and ultimately assisted in relocating to suitable sites elsewhere in the city when market conditions support a change in land use. 1618.6
The District is currently completing a Vision Plan and Development Strategy for NoMA to establish more detailed policies for the area. The Draft Strategy envisions an area of high-density commercial and mixed use development between North Capitol Street and the CSX railroad tracks, and a less intense and primarily residential area east of the tracks, stepping down to the moderate density residential areas of Capitol Hill. A similar transition is envisioned on the north, with vacant land and industrial uses north of Florida Avenue and west of the railroad gradually giving way to housing over the next 20 years. The strategy also envisions air rights development over the CSX tracks (adjacent to the H Street overpass), helping bridge the railroad barrier and support the revival of the H Street commercial district to the east. 1618.7
West of NoMA, the Northwest One neighborhood is roughly bordered by North Capitol and K Streets, and New Jersey and New York Avenues. The area includes several subsidized housing developments, including Sursum Corda Cooperative, Temple Court Apartments, Tyler House, Sibley Plaza, and Golden Rule Center. More than 35 percent of the area's 2,000 residents live below the federal poverty line, and the area has suffered from high crime and distressed housing for years. In 2004, Northwest One was selected as the pilot site for the city's New Communities Initiative. Plans are currently underway to rebuild the Sursum Corda Cooperative as a mixed income community, providing one-for-one replacement of subsidized housing while adding market rate housing and new community anchors that help residents become more self-sufficient. 1618.8
While NoMA is far from a blank canvass, its parking lots, open storage yards, and vacant sites present the opportunity for thousands of new homes, millions of square feet of office space, and great new parks and public buildings.
Policy CW-2.8.1: NoMA Land Use Mix
Promote NoMA's development as an active mixed use neighborhood that includes residential, office, hotel, commercial, and ground floor retail uses. A diverse mix of housing, serving a range of household types and incomes, should be accommodated. 1618.9
Policy CW-2.8.2: East of the Tracks and Eckington Place Transition Areas
Create a production/arts and live/work, mixed-use area east of the CSX railroad tracks between H Street NE and Florida Avenue NE and in the area east of Eckington Place and north of New York Avenue. Some of this area is shown as "Mixed Use Production Distribution Repair/Residential" areas on the Future Land Use Map. The intent of this designation is not to blend industrial uses with housing but rather to retain viable industrial activities until market conditions support their conversion to live/work space, housing, artists' studios, and similar uses. Mixed use squares in the NoMA area have unique characteristics that allow for a balance of industrial, residential, and office uses. The industrial striping on the Future Land Use Map anticipates some office use. These two areas should generally not be developed as large-scale commercial office building areas. Mixed-use development, including housing, should be encouraged in both locations.
Policy CW-2.8.3: NoMA Transportation Improvements
Design NoMA to accommodate a wide array of transportation options, with a particular emphasis on walking, bicycling, and improved transit connections. Improve the accessibility, functionality, and safety of the area's street grid, introducing new streets as needed to improve circulation through the area. This should include the redesign of the New York/Florida Avenue intersection to improve pedestrian safety, enhance access to the New York Avenue metro station, and create a landscaped neighborhood gateway, possibly including a new national memorial. 1618.11
Policy CW-2.8.4: Protecting Neighborhoods Abutting NoMA
Provide appropriate scale transitions between NoMA and existing adjacent residential neighborhoods in Eckington and Capitol Hill to conserve the fine-grained row house fabric of these communities. Service facilities, loading docks, and other potentially objectionable features should be located away from sensitive uses such as housing. 1618.12
See also the Urban Design Element and the Capitol Hill Area Element for policies on scale transitions.
Policy CW-2.8.5: NoMA Architectural Design
Establish a unique architectural and design identity for NoMA, based in part on the area's heritage as an industrial area. This identity should preserve, renovate, and adaptively reuse NoMA's important historic buildings. 1618.13
Implement the NoMA Vision Plan and Development Strategy, including its recommendations for land use, infrastructure, transportation, environmental improvements, streetscape, open space, identity, and neighborhood quality. 1618.14
See the Mid-City Area Element for a discussion of the proposed Eckington Small Area Plan, including the North Capitol Street area between Florida and New York Avenues.
Action CW-2.8.B: NoMA Infrastructure
Complete an assessment of infrastructure and utility needs for NoMA and identify the most appropriate means to finance and build needed improvements. 1618.15
Consider a range of development incentives, including tax-increment financing, payment in lieu of taxes, and tax abatement for preferred development, to achieve the desired land use mix within NoMA. 1618.16
Action CW-2.8.D: Northwest One New Community
Redevelop Northwest One as a mixed income community, including new market rate and subsidized housing, a new school and recreation center, a library and health clinic, and neighborhood-serving retail space. Redevelopment of Northwest One should:
Action CW-2.8.E: Public Participation in Union Station Air Rights Development
Because of the Union Station air rights' uniquely diverse surroundings - including rowhouses, historic landmarks, and dense office development - and its potential to spur other investment in the neighborhood, implement a process that requires public participation in the review of any development application for that site.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 10, r. 10-A1618